Oilers acquire Cooper Marody from Flyers for 3rd round pick in 2019

The Oilers just announced on Twitter that they have acquired right-handed centreman, Cooper Marody, from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a 3rd round pick in 2019.

Trade deadline? What trade deadline. Just because the annual swap shop has come and gone and Oilers are eliminated from the playoffs doesn’t mean that there’s not still work left to be done. With that in mind, the Oilers completed a deal that sends the 3rd round pick acquired in the Patrick Maroon deal to Philadelphia in exchange for the 21-year-old centreman that was amongst the Big Ten leaders in scoring.

Marody, a former 6th round pick in 2015 (158th overall), will surely add to the otherwise shallow prospect pool in Bakersfield that is in desperate need of skilled forwards. That team is devoid of forwards that can finish and this move certainly looks geared at remedying that situation. Marody had a whale of a year with the University of Michigan this past season and now we’ll have to wait and see how/if that will translate to the professional levels.

In 37 games played with the University of Michigan this season, Marody collected 46 points (14G, 32A), 22 PIMs, and had a +17 rating which were all the best numbers of his collegiate career. The question that I’m sure is on the minds of a lot of Oilers fans right now is who did they just trade for and what can he do? Let’s take a look.

WHAT’S A COOPER MARODY?

Scout text on Marody"Very smart with good hands and a hard accurate shot. Needs to improve his skating, but his hockey sense gets him in good spots on the ice. Knows how to get open and has good vision."

If you’re anything like me, chances are that you’ve never heard of this player until just now so I got to work, scouring the Internet to find out more about him. So who the hell is Cooper Marody? Allow my quick research to guide you.

Cooper Marody has taken off on the scoresheet much like a bat out of hell and it shows as the collegiate junior has 24 points through just 16 contests so far this season. When you thought he could not get much faster than he already was, he somehow manages to find a high gear and is making good use of it when generating creating for others in the offensive zone. With him and other prospects coming down the pipeline, current NHL fixtures such as Giroux and Voracek will have a very capable cavalry for backup support in due course. Continuing to put on good weight while keeping his quickness intact remains a high priority.

Growing up, Marody knew he wasn’t going to outmuscle or outskate anybody, at least not just yet.

But maybe he could outskill them.

Instead of darting all over the ice in an attempt to make an impact, Marody let the game come to him, eyes scanning all over the rink, carefully anticipating his next move before incisively doing so. His intelligence and calm attitude allowed him to make up for his physical disadvantages and mentally stay ahead of his competition. Know when to pass, know when to shoot. Know when to lie back, know when to go for it.

He goes hard on the forecheck, causes turnovers and creates chances around the net. He displays tremendous speed and acceleration, and uses his speed to take the puck wide and create chances from the outside as well as the inside. He doesn’t take long to mull over his decisions and while he isn’t overly creative, he does make the smart play and finds seams quickly.

He has a hard, deceptive shot, and is more than willing to go to the dirty areas for the puck and for his chances. He can fire off a very hard slapper and quick release wrister. He plays a very high-energy game, and he never quits despite what the score might be.

THE WRAP

Considering the Oilers are in dire need for skilled forwards on their depth chart, this trade makes a world of sense from a prospect perspective. That said, the pick they spent on him was (basically) the sole return for Patrick Maroon at the deadline which will add some pressure on the scouting staff to make sure that they got this right. Marody was a former sixth-round pick that was just acquired for a third rounder which implies that he either took off since being drafted or that the Oilers overpaid again. So which is it?

From what I can find, Marody is a smart player with an array of skills in his toolbox which definitely makes this trade understandable, but there’s certainly no guarantees that this will work out either. What is most interesting, to me, is that the Oilers keep adding college players to their depth chart which tells me that the NCAA scouts clearly have Chiarelli’s ear. Will that approach work out? Who knows. It will take time to see what Marody can do at the pro level and whether or not this was just another moved that shuffled the deck chair. Either way, what we do know for sure is that the Pat Maroon trade just got another layer added to the story and that there is another live body on our depth chart.

So we get a guaranteed pro right now (at least at the AHL level and possibly the NHL) for a pick who chances are would not have been ready for the AHL or NHL for another few years. Lets not look at this as Maroon for Marody but instead for the trade it really is. A University player ready for pro hockey for a 3rd round pick. This to me is a win and a trade I would take all day long.

What are the odds that a kid you pick out of junior in the 3rd round when you are drafting him as a 17/18 yr old makes the NHL? IF he does make the NHL, it’s easily 3-4 yrs away. I have no idea if this Marody will make the NHL but at 21, you have a better idea of what he can and can’t do than you would a 17 yr old playing kids.

That’s a more than fair comment…it’s just the guy that made the trade hasn’t instilled alot of confidence with the trades he has made so far as GM of the Oilers or Bruins for that matter so it’s more than fair to think good ol pistol pete dropped the ball on another deal…

True but he seems to be a lot better at drafting and making minor deals than the big ones. Trading a 3rd rounder in next years draft that would be a 17 yr old 3-4 yrs away from even having a chance at the NHL for a guy that can turn pro isn’t exactly a major move.

Plus for those freaking out about him not being signed yet. You seriously don’t think they have talked to him and found out if they have a shot at signing him. I know people hate Chia but come on.

“Ol Pistol Pete” has actually been pretty good at small deals. The Maroon deal fell short of expectations, but according to Chia (and I find him to be pretty honest to the media) there wasn’t a lot of interest. But Pontus Aberg for a declining Mark Letestu??? 3 Point night against the ‘Canes aside, I’ll take a young RFA tweener for a past his prime UFA 4C any day – Letestu was great for a couple years but Chiarelli was right to move on and got a great return there.

Cool he’s turned a couple nickels into dimes…so who handles the deals then that are of any significance? So it’s OK for him to lose the real hockey deals as long as he keeps spotting dimes from across the room..enjoy your chumpchange team filled with really good deals on the 3rd and 4th lines

Players coming out of NCAA are the closest thing to Pro level hockey players you can get. This guy has experience playing against grown men and he just turned 21 at xmas. He will most likely remain in NCAA or the ahl for another 1-3 years but for me the maroon trade is now a win. 2 decent/solid prospects for an overachieving 30 year old UFA.

I don’t know why people have been bashing our picks. Since Chiarelli took over there’s been some good pick ups in the later rounds like Jones, Bear, Safin and Maksimov. But seeing as we had like 3 3rd rounders this year I don’t mind grabbing a more mature prospect either.

Baloney! The Oilers need to win now and trading magic beans for proven older prospects is what we need to do to try to win a cup while
McDavid is still here ! Given the Oilers craptacular drafting record over the years after the 1st round, I’m worrying less about mid to late round picks than I used to in order to speed up the winning process here and have us stop with the cronic losing !!!

I think draft has actually been Chiarelli’s strong suit. In his 3 years he has made some good.bets outside the 1st round.
2015; Bear and Jones are progressing well.
2016; Benson has some good arrows outside of injury concerns.
2017; Skinner, Satin and Maksimov are all looking like good prospects.

It is too early on most of them to be sure what we have but that is a good group of players for a 3 year period all outside the 1st round.

AS usual PC does what he said he would do. i.e. more interested in prospects than draft choices. Couldn’t get much in the way prospects for Maroon initially, but managed to find one here. Whether Moroday ever plays a game for the OIl, I have no idea.

Probably. And looking at the lack of depth on both the NHL and AHL he has a shot at making either team with a bit of luck. All he wants is probably to get his foot in the door the NHL and going through Bakersfield/Edmonton is a good bet for him.

This trade seems like a win to me (who the hell can honestly say a third-rounder is worth much at all?), but someone needs to tell me how on Earth the Oilers and Flyers can combine for a deal AFTER the trade deadline but before the season’s over. I had no idea you could do that. Is it because this is a non-roster player/prospect/guy in college? It’s so funny – I used to make fun of Major League Baseball’s non-deadline Trade Deadline … now this happens.

Don’t forget, it is 2019 picks. Which means that it is still years away before for the pick to be on the roster. Considering about how average player development are like that at the earliest that pick will make the roster is like, 2022?

Marody will be a good fit for a emergency call up depth guy with some speed and shots. He is quite similar to the one just left: Letestu.

Overall Chiarelli has done a good job, not a great job since coming to Edmonton. One thing people seem to forget is that Edmonton is not a world class city and we are not the most desirable location for a free agent to land. We are much closer to Winnipeg than we are to New York and hey Edmonton weather is a real selling feature too. We have managed to attract a couple of high profile free agent since his arrival. He has managed to do a good job in improving the scouting and drafting. I like how he has managed to see value where others have seen none. Maroon, Letestu and has picked up some NHL players for nothing IE: Caggiula. Chiarelli has also managed to keep a lot of our draft picks unlike our Neighbors to the south who sold the farm to build a non playoff team in all Likelyhood. He also has addressed our backup goaltender needs rather nicely and has drafted some decent goal tending picks for the future. I think the long term future with Chiarelli looks decent. The big player trades are not great but can be justified by the needs at the time. IE defencemen, Hall. Salary dump Eberle for Strome

The biggest problem in Edmonton right now is the coaching. TMac looks past his prime and there is no excuse for the PP and PK this year. That’s on the coaching staff.

Everyone wants the cupboard restocked in Bakersfield so it’s begun. I said in nov the Oilers are 3-5 years away from being in the mix. I still believe that. Mostly because of contracts that have to play out. Mcpoints until 2022. Then it’s showtime. PC will be long gone by then also

For those on the “3rd round pick for a 6th round pick” narrative, maybe go back up and read the part about Maroon being a 6th round pick in his draft year. Once a player is drafted you might as well throw out his ranking as it will have nothing to do with what happens to the player throughout their career, some work out some don’t. If 2 years after the draft that player gets traded, their value has nothing to due with where the were drafted. Better then magic beans in my opinion.

I want to say clearly: I am not comparing the two players when I say the next part…

…Pavel Datsyuk was a 6th rounder, as well. He was never a fast player, nor overly big. However, he’s smart and has great hands.

I am not saying Marody will turn into anything of Datsyuk’s nature, but there’s plenty of examples of players taken out of the first round that end up playing better than that of the first round. It should not be the case, but Detroit has a history of drafting great players in the later rounds.

I am just hoping this guy can play some 3rd or 4th line minutes and chip in a few goals here and there.

i don’t hate this trade…for now. He has similar college numbers as Alex Kerfoot, and this team could use an Alex Kerfoot. It doesn’t look like a Philly fleece job, his value is definitely higher than when he was drafted, he is only 21 and if he can keep progressing this might be a quality add to the organization.

Connor McDavid will be entering his fourth year as a pro this upcoming training camp. Oilers management is still struggling to create a depth chart and find guys who can play wing or d-men capable of jumping into the play. Plenty of blame to go around for all that happened the past “x” many years. A real sense of urgency is needed for the next two years. The Oilers might need to find themselves a 19 year old CHL player who can challenge for a roster spot at camp or find themselves a player like Kyle Connor with the Jets who play one season of NCAA and bring their gig to the show at 21 and be successful. The key word should be urgency.

What Chia traded for was for 3 years of development and a glimpse at what the prospect looks like 3 years in the future. For that he gave up 3 rounds in the draft… What i don’t understand/know is whether Marody can walk away as he is a 2015 draft that is still not signed?

He was drafted so long ago his ranking is pretty irrelevant by now. This isn’t a 3rd for a 6th. That’s like saying you wouldn’t trade a first for johnny gaudreau because he’s a 4th rounder. Obviously he’s changed since his orignial draft ranking.